Can a lawyer who was an associate, not a partner, of a now-deceased lawyer name the new firm after both of them?

Plain-English summary

Lawyer W was an associate of Lawyer A's firm from 1979 until A's death in 1983, and was slated to become a partner in January 1984. After A died, W bought the firm's physical assets, kept working for many of A's former clients, and formed a firm he named "A & W," with both names above the line on the letterhead and a notation of A's birth and death years. A legal directory refused to list the firm as "A & W," and W asked the committee for an opinion that the name was proper.

The committee concluded the name was not proper. It found the use of A's name misleading under former Rule 2-101, because placing A and W together in the firm name and on the letterhead implied both that an "A & W" firm existed before A's death and that A and W had been partners, neither of which was true. The committee contrasted Opinion 709, where continuing to use a deceased member's name was proper because the firm was a bona fide successor, the use was authorized, and the public was not misled, citing EC 2-11. Here, by contrast, A and W were never partners and no "A & W" firm ever existed while A was alive, so there could be no continued succession of identity. The committee treated "A & W" as a prohibited manufactured trade name.

The committee noted that ABA authority required the same result: ABA Informal Opinion 1174 states a lawyer may not claim to be the successor of another lawyer with whom he was merely associated, and ABA Model Rule 7.5(d) permits stating or implying a partnership only when that is the fact. Reading the rule's present-tense language to also cover claims about a former partnership, the committee found that implying an "A & W" partnership or succession would be misleading, contrary to Model Rules 7.1 and 7.5.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in January 1984, under the former Illinois Code of Professional Responsibility and before Illinois adopted the 1990 (and later 2010) Rules of Professional Conduct. The ISBA Board of Governors affirmed the opinion in July 2010 as generally consistent with the 2010 Rules (Rules 7.1 and 7.5(d)), while cautioning that the specific standards referenced may differ from the 2010 Rules. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule or requirement mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Can a lawyer name a new firm after a deceased lawyer he worked for but was never a partner with?

A: The opinion concluded no; because they were never partners and no such firm existed before the death, the combined name implies a partnership and succession that never existed and is misleading under former Rule 2-101.

Q: When is using a deceased lawyer's name in a firm name allowed?

A: Per the opinion and EC 2-11, it is proper where the firm is a bona fide successor of the firm in which the deceased lawyer was a member, the use is authorized by law or contract, and the public is not misled, as the committee found in Opinion 709.

Q: Why was "A & W" treated as a manufactured trade name?

A: Because A and W were never partners and no "A & W" firm existed while A was alive, the committee found there was no continued succession of identity, so the name was manufactured rather than a genuine successor name.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied former Illinois Code Rule 2-101 (misleading communications) and Rule 2-102 (firm names and letterheads), with EC 2-11 on the permissible use of a deceased or retired partner's name, and relied on ABA Model Rules 7.1 and 7.5(d) and ABA Informal Opinion 1174. The Board's 2010 affirmation maps the analysis to current Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1 (communications about a lawyer's services) and 7.5(d) (a lawyer may state a firm partnership only when it is the fact), corresponding to ABA Model Rules 7.1 and 7.5.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• Illinois Code Rule 2-101, Rule 2-102, EC 2-11 (applied in the opinion)
• Illinois RPC 7.1 and 7.5(d) (2010 equivalents per the Board's affirmation)
• MR 7.1 (communications about services); MR 7.5 (firm names)

Other opinions cited:

• ISBA Opinions 709, 556, 427: use of a deceased lawyer's name where the firm is a bona fide successor
• ABA Informal Opinion 1174: a lawyer may not claim to be the successor of one with whom he was merely associated

See also

• ISBA Ethics Op. 85-02: Practicing Under a Name That Hides the Real Firm
• ISBA Ethics Op. 865: Use of a Suspended Lawyer's Name
• ISBA Ethics Op. 87-01: Nonlawyers on Firm Letterhead

Source

• Landing page: https://www.isba.org/ethics/opinions/8410